A gang of 20 youths as young as 14 are targeting homeless people with threats of violence.

One rough sleeper said he had to fight the gang off with a lit gas stove, forcing them under the CCTV cameras.

The Herald spoke to a number of homeless men around Catherine Street Baptist Church on Thursday night who each claimed to have suffered torment and threats of violence at the hand of children believed to be as young as 14 or 15.

One man, whom The Herald is naming only as ‘John’ for fear of reprisals, said he and others have been specifically targeted on at least two nights this week.

John said: “It’s ‘happy slapping’ kids, large groups of them. They were aged between 14 or 15 and 22 years. There was at least 20 of them crowding around me.

“The first night was Tuesday. I fought them off on my own.

“I grabbed my little gas cooker and lit it and turned it up waving it at them. I thought if I acted like some kind of madman they would back off.

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Another homeless man, who asked to only be known as Christopher, revealed that despite recently being granted accommodation due to his deteriorating medical condition, he was frequently spending nights with his former homeless colleagues to help protect them.

Christopher, a father from Poland who was made homeless after working consistently for nearly a decade in the UK, said he worried about his friends and how they were being targeted.

(Image: Media Wales)

He said: “I am afraid for them. The police do not help. They harass us, bully us. The council clear away our sleeping bags and valuables. No-one else will protect these people.

“I am afraid how I would act if they came along one night and threatened me.”

The Herald contacted Plymouth’s Shekinah Mission charity which provides opportunities for people in recovery or seeking recovery from homelessness, drug and alcohol issues, offending behaviours or mental ill health.

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They said that while they had no specific recent reports of group attacks by youths on the city’s homeless, they highlighted how homeless people frequently report suffering individual attacks and abuse, ranging from being urinated on, theft of their possessions, verbal abuse, physical abuse and violence.

The Shekinah representative said frontline staff at the mission would be contacting police to highlight the issue and seek better protection of the men.

The Herald is awaiting a response from Plymouth police about the allegations.